Campaigners who want better access at a train station has been recognised at a national awards ceremony for its hard work.

The Chinley and Buxworth Transport Group scooped the Best New Group in the Railfuture organisation awards earlier in the month and also took home a commendation in the category Best Campaign.

Paul Tattam from the group said: “These awards look at stations up and down the county and the fact we have won in one and been commended in another category is just fantastic and really reflects the hard work of everyone involved.”

Railfuture’s annual Awards for Rail User Groups, which started in 2012, aim to recognise and reward local volunteers who come together and work tirelessly to improve their local railway - its stations and services - on behalf of their passengers, efforts which all-too-often would otherwise pass unheralded.

Chinley and Buxworth Transport Group has been tackling the issue of access at the station as both platforms can only be reached by using two sets of steps.

Paul said: “We want to make the train accessible for all, bet that parents with pushchairs, the disabled and those with bicycles and currently it isn’t.

“bieng at the awards has raised our profile and is very good as it maintains interest in what we are doing and why.

“I didn’t think we would win outright for our campaign and we lost out to a much bigger station in London but I really pleased with the special recognition.”

Awards organiser Roger Blake said: “This new group has achieved a great deal in a short time. They still have a big challenge ahead of them, as small stations such as Chinley are fairly low down the pecking order when it comes to funding priorities, but it’s another example of where access improvements can reap huge benefits for existing passengers, and attract new rail users, this is why we supported the group.”